Great business ideas don’t fund themselves! The first step which brings you closer to find an investor is to create a great pitch. Raising money from investors is challenging at any stage. Sometimes you only have 10 minutes or even less to pitch your business opportunity to an investor.
After working with countless startups for many years and helping them raise funding for their business ideas we established a checklist with the most important things to include in your Pitch to succeed.
Engage your audience with a story and address it to the problem your product is going to solve.
Present your solution and what is making it unique.
Impress the investors with what you and your team have accomplished so far in regards to sales, product launches and contracts etc.)
Present your target market. Narrow your market, this will not only impress your audience, but it will help you think more strategically about your roll-out plan.
Show how you will approach the potential clients and what it will cost your business. Include your goals and how you will measure your success.
Most probably one of the most important parts of your Pitch is the competitor’s analysis. Here you will explain what is making you different and unique compared to the others.
Don’t underestimate the presentation of this information. Try to establish a table with competitors and next to it what are you feature and advantage of your product.
What is in the investors most interest? Yes, right. How will you make money? Your revenue model is the key to getting funded.
Show what you expect on revenue per product for the next 3- 5 years.
Don’t forget the investors invest in people first and ideas second. Present your team and why they are the right people to be in this particular business and position. Refer to their skills and previous experience.
How much money was invested into your business so far and how much more it will need to get to the next level. Answer questions: How much funding you need? Why do you need it? What do you need it for? What outcome do you expect?
The last important part which is in investors’ interest, is your exit strategy. Show that you have done some due diligence on your exit strategy including the targeted companies and why It makes sense 3,5,10 years in the future.
